Volume 1 Chapter 17: Marriage, Right Now
Ruan Wan felt as if she had been struck by an electric current.
Her mind echoed the words she had once said to Li Yuan over the phone.
—I want a child. Will you give me one, Big Brother?
“I didn’t mean…”
Ruan Wan wanted to explain.
But Li Yuan took out a black suitcase. When he opened it, half contained boys’ clothes, and the other half girls’ clothes.
“I didn’t know whether you wanted a boy or a girl, so I bought both.”
Ruan Wan was bewildered. “Huh?”
Li Yuan asked again, “Did you bring your ID card?”
His train of thought jumped too quickly. Before Ruan Wan could process it, she nodded. “Yes, I did.”
Li Yuan hummed in acknowledgment and said to the driver, “Pengcheng, head to the Civil Affairs Bureau.”
Ruan Wan’s lips parted slightly as she asked in confusion, “Why are we going to the Civil Affairs Bureau?”
“Didn’t you say you wanted a child?” Li Yuan tilted his head, his long eyebrows slightly raised. “I’m a conservative person. I can’t give you a child without marriage.”
Ruan Wan’s mind buzzed, finally realizing what Li Yuan intended to do.
He wanted to marry her?
Her thoughts were chaotic, her mind sluggish. “No, I didn’t mean I wanted a child…”
Before she could finish, Li Yuan leaned toward her, one hand braced on the leather seat.
An overwhelming sense of pressure filled his expression, like dark clouds heavy with ink, foretelling a storm.
Yet, his thin, crimson lips curved into a faint smile. “Are you saying you lied to me?”
The car fell into a terrifying silence.
Ruan Wan’s throat tightened.
Psychology only taught her about the “Door-in-the-Face Technique.”
But the books never mentioned what to do if the other person agreed to the first major request she made…
Remembering the rumors about Li Yuan—that his hands were stained with blood—Ruan Wan raised three fingers to her temple. “I didn’t lie to you. Let’s get married. Right now.”
Her gaze was resolute, reminiscent of Consort Qi when she exposed Zhen Huan’s affair.
Li Yuan withdrew his gaze and chuckled softly.
Ruan Wan: “…”
By the time the car stopped at the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau, the staff had been off duty for a long time.
Ruan Wan breathed a sigh of relief. “Big Brother, shouldn’t we discuss this with Minglan?”
“Discuss what? Are you two in a relationship?”
“No.”
“Are you married?”
“…No.”
That’s right—she and Li Minglan weren’t married.
They hadn’t registered their marriage, nor had they consummated it.
On the day they were supposed to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau, Li Minglan never showed up.
Ruan Wan had someone forge a fake Marriage Certificate.
To this day, Li Minglan still didn’t know the Marriage Certificate was fake, stamped with a counterfeit seal.
At that moment, Li Yuan glanced at his watch.
“Nine o’clock on Monday morning, I’ll pick you up to register our marriage. Is that convenient?”
Ruan Wan instinctively asked, “Why Monday? Tomorrow is Friday, and the Civil Affairs Bureau isn’t closed.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she lowered her head abruptly.
Why did she sound so eager…
“Because tomorrow is an inauspicious day for marriage.”
Hearing his serious reply, Ruan Wan was taken aback.
She looked up and met Li Yuan’s narrow, deep-set eyes, reflecting the night sky and neon lights after the rain, exceptionally captivating.
Ruan Wan felt as if she were frozen in place, yet her heart pounded violently.
After returning to Shanlan Villa, Ruan Wan washed her face with cold water. The chill seeped into every inch of her skin, and only then did she truly process everything that had happened today.
She flipped through the almanac and realized Li Yuan was right.
Tomorrow was indeed an inauspicious day for marriage.
The next auspicious day was the following Monday.
Aunt Zhao had taken the day off, leaving the villa empty and quiet.
Ruan Wan took out the gift Li Yuan had given her.
The pen was beautiful, shimmering under the light, its embossed design exquisite and romantic.
When she first saw it at the mall, she had loved it, but the staggering price had made her hesitate.
Now, feeling the weight of the pen in her palm was like encountering a person she had loved in her youth—even after years apart, it still stirred ripples in her heart.
She carefully put away the gift, took out her suitcase, and began packing.
She wouldn’t be staying at Minglan Villa much longer.
Her belongings were few; even a 22-inch suitcase wasn’t full.
Aside from two pieces of clothing, all she took were her documents. When she found her and Li Minglan’s Marriage Certificate, Ruan Wan didn’t hesitate to toss it into the shredder.
The red paper was quickly shredded, blending with the white scraps like bloodstains.
She then went to Li Minglan’s room, hoping to find his copy of the Marriage Certificate and shred it as well.
Strangely, she couldn’t find it.
Just then, Li Minglan’s voice came from behind her. “What are you looking for?”
Startled by the sudden sound, Ruan Wan turned to see a mocking curl at the corner of Li Minglan’s lips. “What, planning to drug me again?”
“…” Ruan Wan shook her head. “I was just wondering where you keep your Marriage Certificate.”
Li Minglan sneered. “I threw it away long ago. Did you think I’d carry it around with me?”
Ruan Wan felt a wave of relief.
Good that it was gone.
She fell silent, her usual dull and uninteresting self, and said slowly, “I didn’t expect you to come, so I didn’t ask Aunt Zhao to prepare your meal. I can make you a bowl of noodles if you’d like.”
She assumed Li Minglan had already eaten with Shen Zhizhi.
It was just a casual offer.
“Fine,” Li Minglan said, his expression easing. “Just don’t slip anything into it.”
Ruan Wan: “…”
She hadn’t eaten either, so making an extra portion of noodles wasn’t a big deal.
Right now, another matter was more pressing—regardless of whether this marriage was real or not, the fault for its collapse had to lie with Li Minglan.
But lately, he had been coming home far too often.
Especially this week—aside from her birthday, he had returned almost every day. To anyone watching, it would seem like he was “turning over a new leaf.”
This was not good for Ruan Wan.
She needed evidence of Li Minglan’s infidelity.
The sooner, the better.
The beef noodles were soon ready. In a blue-and-white porcelain bowl, the noodles were perfectly separated, steaming hot. Outside the window, a light drizzle began to fall again, filling the bright and luxurious villa with a warm, homely atmosphere.
Li Minglan took a bite, his eyes narrowing slightly. For once, his words weren’t laced with sarcasm. “Did you pick up my brother from the airport today?”
“Yes.”
“Is the birthday gift I gave you working well? I passed by the study earlier and saw it on the table.”
Ruan Wan frowned.
Had Li Minglan eaten poisonous mushrooms and started hallucinating?
This was the second time he had mentioned a birthday gift.
But when had he ever given her anything? He hadn’t even wished her a happy birthday.
If she hadn’t known the plot, she might have thought Li Minglan was recording everything, just like her.
Ruan Wan didn’t answer. After taking a few careful bites of her noodles, she finally spoke. “Did you not pick up your brother because of Shen Zhizhi?”
Instantly, Li Minglan bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
He slammed his chopsticks down. “Ruan Wan, are you investigating me?”
“I just want to know what your relationship with Shen Zhizhi really is. I heard you were together in high school.”
Li Minglan’s face darkened. “Who told you that?”
Ruan Wan lowered her gaze.
“You rarely drink, but last time you got drunk, you grabbed me and called out Zhizhi’s name, saying you wanted to accept her confession, but you were worried it was just a drunken joke.”
“So, she confessed to you, and you were moved too, right?”
Ruan Wan’s voice trembled.
Like every wife whose husband has strayed, her voice alone sounded pitiful.
In reality.
Li Minglan had hidden Shen Zhizhi well—no sleep-talking, no mistaken names.
No one had told her about the love-hate entanglement between Li Minglan and Shen Zhizhi in high school.
But Li Minglan felt guilty, immediately believing Ruan Wan’s words, visibly growing uneasy and flustered.
Then, it was replaced by a surge of fury.
He stood up, “Ruan Wan, remember your place. Even if I like someone else, it has nothing to do with you.”
“So, you do like Shen Zhizhi…”
“What if I do? I’ll never like you anyway!”
In her pocket, the voice recorder silently continued its work.
Ruan Wan had gotten what she wanted, but it wasn’t enough.
So, she added another heavy blow.